A series of anti-immigration posters were distributed to the California State Universities via email Tuesday morning, calling for the prosecution of CSU Chancellor Timothy White for supporting sanctuary campuses.
The posters, which included a caricatured image of White along with the caption, “Defund CSU prosecute Timothy P. White,” were claimed by the David Horowitz Freedom Center as a part of a national campaign aimed at targeting administrators who do not comply with immigration laws.
“We want the chancellor to be prosecuted and all funds to be suspended,” said David Horowitz, founder of the center. “Chancellor [White] has declared [all CSU’s as] sanctuary campuses, your campus is defying federal law and defying the security of students.”
Although the Freedom Center assumes CSULB to be a sanctuary campus, CSU officials have not officially declared the campuses as sanctuaries, which they emphasized in an open letter released Nov. 17 and continue to emphasize to this day.
“We do not call our campuses ‘sanctuary campuses’” said Elizabeth Chapin, CSU manager of public affairs. “The CSU will not enter agreements with federal authorities to enforce federal immigration and hold requests.”
The Freedom Center, whose focus is defending free societies and American freedoms, launched the “no sanctuary campus” campaign last month in an effort to get state legislators to withdraw federal funding from universities who protect immigrants.
Milo Yiannopoulos, a British Public speaker and Trump supporter, partnered with the Freedom Center and was scheduled to kick start the campaign with a speech scheduled at UC Berkeley on Feb 1. However, the speech was canceled in the midst of riots which broke out at Berkeley opposing the British speakers anti-immigration views, ultimately resulting in $100,000 worth of property damages.
“This is a situation that cannot be allowed to stand,” said Horowitz in a press release. “Our campaign will galvanize trustees, alumni and attorneys general to take action against these administrators who are thwarting American law and will also make this case to the American public whose taxes underwrite most of these institutions.”
According to the open letter written by White, the CSU does not use the term sanctuary because it can be interpreted in many ways.
“If we were to use this term it would be misleading to the very people we support and serve,” said White.
The CSU’s policy makes it clear that unless prohibited by California Government Code or required by law, the CSU will not enter into agreements with law enforcement regarding immigration laws.
The policy also states that University police will not “contact, detain, question or arrest individuals solely on the basis of being – or suspected of being – a person that lacks documentation.”
Although the posters directly targeted White, labeling him as a criminal, Chaplin said the CSU will continue supporting free speech.
“The CSU is committed to providing a safe and welcoming environment for all of its students [and] all people can express opinions no matter how unpopular they may be,” she said.
*This story was edited to correct a misquote from Elizabeth Chapin.